Could There Be Something Else?

I'm hoping that by this time tomorrow I'll be writing here what a silly person I am. I'm hoping that in 24 hours I will have some questions answered and some concerns addressed.

I've been in nearly constant pain of some sort or other for several months now. It seems to have begun when I strained a muscle in my shoulder in October. Since then it's been pretty much one thing after another. But right now it doesn't seem like anything is strained or sprained or broken. Instead everything feels inflamed and ache-y. A deep, bone ache. An all-over inflammatory feeling in my joints and muscles. Waxing and waning. Mild and then severe. In more than a couple of areas.

I'm beginning to wonder if we should explore the idea that I might have an inflammatory condition like fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis or lupus or something.

When I look back, I've even wondered if all that muscle tension I complained about last spring might have been the beginning.

So I've made an appointment with my internist again. I'll go in there and say, "I'm here to ask this question. It's a question I'm asking, but also my friends and family. Should we consider that I might have something other than menopause going on? Something in addition to menopause?"

And then we'll talk.